Polygraph test results not legal evidence in civil lawsuits: SPC

BEIJING - Polygraph test results are not admissible legal evidence in civil lawsuits, according to a directive issued by China's Supreme People's Court (SPC) that is set to take effect on Sept 1.

When certain specific issues relating to a case need to be resolved in order to clarify the circumstances of the case, experts are usually assigned or invited for evaluation.

However, courts shall not seek an expert evaluation, when facts can be inferred through common sense or rules of thumb, or evidence is supposed to be provided by the party concerned in cases where expert witnesses are not necessary, like lie detection, for instance, notes the new directive.

Polygraph test results do not belong to the legal forms of evidence stipulated by the Civil Procedure Law, and shall not be regarded as expert witnesses by courts to affect the fact-ascertaining process and judicial fairness, according to SPC officials.